Hidden Secrets
by babylove969
Summary: Full summary inside. The Fellowship head to Gondor to fight for Middle Earth. Boromir is still alive and looking forward to seeing his brother. He never expected for The White City to be in the shape that it is in, nor did he expect to find that Faramir had many secrets that he has kept from him. Together they have to try ad fight in a war and deal with these secrets.
1. Chapter One

_**A/N: Okay I cannot believe that I am writing a Lord of the Rings story, I really can't. For those of you that follow my stories you know that I don't rant before I begin a story, I just write the summary and warnings so please excuse my rant here. **_

_**I don't know how well this story is going to be or where it will be going. Things in this story will differ from the books and the movies, but the end goal is the same. This really is all Orlando Bloom's fault. I had no interest in watching the Hobbit movies, I read the book when I was in Grade eight and hated it. So I never watched the first one, but then Orlando Bloom decided to be in the second one so I had to watch it, because it's freaking Orlando Bloom with long hair, need I say more. So you can't watch the second movie without seeing the first so I had to watch the first and then watched the second one right afterwards. That led to wanting to see the Lord of the Rings all over again with the extended scenes. Now here we are I'm searching the site and reading stories and now I have to write one. **_

_**For those that read my stories, I have a serious interest in characters with pasts and I love brothers. There is just something about Faramir that I love and have to write about. The way his father treats him and how Faramir and Boromir have a close relationship and there isn't any jealousy or hatred between them. So I have to write about Faramir.**_

_**So for this story some things will be different I want to get it all out now so if people don't like the difference in the story they don't have to read it from the start and hopefully no one will complain about it. Boromir is alive he survived his injuries from the arrows and he still tried to take the ring. Everything in the first movie happened and in the second movie happened the only difference is Boromir was alive to help in Helms Deep. Faramir let Sam and Frodo go, but his actions are that of the book where he doesn't take them to Gondor to hand the ring over. I don't believe that Faramir would try to take the ring especially after hearing that Boromir tried. The character seems more noble and has a strong will and belief in right and wrong like Aragorn. I also think it shows just how different the brothers are. It also shows how Boromir is more like his father in his interest in glory and power and how Faramir is more like his mother with a more intellectual side and no desire for glory or power. **_

_**I am going to try my best to get the characters down and most importantly the old**_ _**language. I ask that you bare-with me while I get the language and wording down, I am welcomed to people helping me out with the language in a constructive way. This is a new territory to me and I'm not sure how well it will go over.**_

_**Summary: So this story is going to be focused on Faramir and Gondor. The fellowship is still in Rohan after their victory. Faramir has to go back to the city to face his father once his father got word of his actions in letting the ring go. The fellowship decide they will head to Gondor because they know that Sauron will attack there next, especially with it being so close to Mordor. Theoden is staying in Rohan to build up the army before they come to Gondor to help them fight the war. I am going to have it so there is a larger time in between Helms Deep and the final battle in Gondor so there is more to this story. The time in between will be more than a week and a bit, for my story it will be a couple of months with smaller battles building up to the big final battle. I'm also going to make it so that Faramir is only twenty-five in my story and Boromir is thirty. I want Faramir a little younger and only holding seven years' experience to make him seem younger in the field than Boromir as well. **_

_**Hopefully this goes over well and people don't crucify me for this. There will be mentions of torture, violence and past child abuse. There won't be any slash at all in this and I don't even know if there will be any romance in this at all.**_

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Chapter One

Aragorn along with his fellowship were back in Rohan celebrating their victory at Helms Deep with King Théoden and his men. It was a hard battle, but Gandalf had arrived just in time with Eomer and his men to save them from destruction and death. Now they were all back together at King Théoden's throne room celebrating their victories. Merry and Pippin had managed to destroy Isengard, so today was a good day for Middle Earth. No one had heard about Frodo or the ring, but for now they would listen to their hearts and think positively. If they hadn't heard about either Frodo or the ring then that might mean that they were still alive and had not been captured. With the destruction of Isengard and their victory at Helms Deep they were all certain that Sauron was beyond furious at his loses. He would strike hard and when he does he will make sure it is where it will hurt them the worst. Tonight was for celebration, but tomorrow it would be about planning their next step. Aragon couldn't bring himself to relax though, he knew that he should be celebrating, but he couldn't help, but feel like it was just one battle against many in this war. They didn't know where Sauron was going to attack next, but Aragon had a good idea that it would be Gondor. Gondor was the last true kingdom of men. It was also practically in Mordor's backyard. It wouldn't take long for Sauron to send his armies to attack Gondor from all sides. Aragon was certain that once Sauron had a large enough number in his army he would begin his strike on Gondor. Aragon knew it was supposed to be his kingdom, but he couldn't get passed that fear in him. He did let Frodo go when Boromir could not, but that didn't mean he would be able to lead a kingdom. Even if he did survive the final battle and they had won, Aragon didn't know how to run a kingdom. He didn't know how Gondor and its people would even react to him being there. There was also the Steward that would be a problem in itself. He didn't know much about Denethor other than he would not weakly give up his throne and title. Aragon knew that Denethor couldn't deny his return, but that didn't mean he would willingly give it up either. It could cause a civil war to break out in Gondor if the worst case scenario happened. Aragon also didn't know how Boromir felt about him returning to the throne. Technically it was Boromir's to take over once his father died or stepped down. Aragon knew he would need to speak with Boromir to see how he even felt about his return to Gondor. Aragon knew it was his birthright and he didn't need to consult with anyone. In the end it was his decision and his right to take the throne to Gondor. That didn't mean he wouldn't speak with Boromir first and see how he would react to it. If he could get Boromir on his side and support his return, then Gondor might not react poorly to it.

Aragon looked around the room and saw Merry and Pippin singing on a table with a group of men drinking and smiling up at them. Hobbits always did know how to have a good time. He looked over at another table and saw Eomer with a shocked look on his face as Legolas and Gimli were having a drinking game. Aragon could see Gimli completely drunk and barely staying awake while Legolas looked completely sober. Aragon could understand the look of shock on Eomer face. Elves were not easily intoxicated. In order for Legolas to get truly drunk he would need to drink easily a barrel full of ale before he even got close to passing out. Elves were special creatures and many were envious of their abilities. There had been many times in Aragorn's life, even on this journey that he wished could possess some of Legolas' skills. Even the simple fact of walking on top of snow instead of buried under it. Aragorn loved the Elves and he would never allow any hatred to come from the occasional envy.

Aragon turned to see Gandalf watching Merry and Pippin dancing and singing another song on the same table. He also then saw Boromir speaking with a few of the Rohirian men. He had been drinking, but not too much, just enough to make him louder than normal. Boromir was a man of confidence in himself and in his skills. Aragorn found himself wondering about what Boromir's brother would be like. Aragorn knew that Boromir had a younger brother, but he didn't know his name or anything about him. All he knew was that his brother had a dream that led Boromir to Rivendell. Aragorn wondered if his brother would be confident like Boromir was and if they even got along. Aragorn walked over across the room to speak with Boromir. As he walked up to Boromir, Boromir smiled at Aragorn and welcomed him by putting his arm around Aragorn's shoulders.

"Now this is indeed a celebration for a well-deserved victory." Boromir said with a huge smile on his face.

"We still have a long way to go my friend." Aragorn said with a smile back.

"You need to learn to celebrate the victories in life no matter how small or big my friend." Boromir said with a smile as he moved his hand off from Aragorn's shoulders.

"It is indeed a victory for Middle Earth." Aragorn said with a smile. "I was wishing to speak to you for a moment." Aragorn added.

"Of course. Come let us go outside for some fresh air and quiet."

Boromir and Aragorn headed outside into the night. The stars were blanketing the sky and the moon gave light to the earth. Once outside they could no longer hear the cheering and chatter of men. They didn't have to speak loudly just to be heard over the others.

"What is troubling you my friend? You should be celebrating this victory, not troubled by thoughts." Boromir said.

"It is hard to celebrate when Sauron will just strike another target. There is much to discuss tomorrow and to plan."

"Though that is not what is troubling you." Boromir said as he leaned his back against one of the railings outside.

"No it is not. At some point we will end up in Gondor. I fear that Gondor is where this final battle will take place. Eighty-seven years I have feared and avoided my birthright and now I must return to the city where I am supposed to rule. There are many questions, many unknowns. The further into this war we get the more it troubles me." Aragorn answered honestly.

"The most important question is simple, do you want the crown?" Boromir asked in a simple voice. There was no anger or disgust in his voice and Aragorn took that as a good sign.

"I do not know how to rule or run a kingdom. I have not been to Gondor in decades, not since your father first took over. Not only that you know your father would not willingly stand down. That could cause a civil war in a city that is already weak from this war."

"Those are all excuses and not an answer. At the end of the day, do you want to be king?"

"I never used to, but more recently I feel like I do wish to be king. I think it would be good for the world of men to have a king to return to the throne. I have made many allies in this world and those allies would become Gondor's allies. I am not young anymore. Maybe this war and journey has changed me or maybe just simply my age, but I do believe I do want to be king of Gondor." Aragorn said as he worked it out in his head. It felt good to be saying it out loud. It was helping to get his thoughts in order.

Boromir smiled at Aragorn before he spoke.

"Well then my King that is all that matters. If you wish to take the throne then take it. Just do so knowing that it might not be as simple as walking through the white gates."

"Your father will not want to step down, you know this. I do not wish to cause any more war in the city."

"Everything will work itself out in the end. My father will not want to step down, but he also does not have the right to deny you your throne. I will not lie and say it will be easy, it will not be. You will need to learn how to run Gondor, see what you would like to change and what you would like to keep. You may wish for a new council to be appointed. It will not be easy at first, but you will figure it out and I will be happy to help and support you."

"Are you sure? I would be taking your place after all."

"Being king was never my place my friend. Besides I have no desire to sit at a throne all day. I enjoy being the General to the army of Gondor. I am a soldier and a fighter sitting in a chair all day would not be something I would enjoy. Faramir on the other hand probably would have enjoyed every minute of it." Boromir said with a smile.

"Faramir is your younger brother?"

"He is."

"How old is he?"

"He is only twenty-five. He is ten years younger than I am. He is a Captain of Gondor, he only has to follow mine or our father's orders."

"That is a lot of responsibility for someone that young."

"It is, but my father expects nothing less."

"So Faramir would wish to be Steward of Gondor?"

"I am honestly not sure what his wishes are. I should know, but it is not something we have discussed. We both always knew I was the heir to Gondor, our father made that very clear to us both. I do not know what his heart desires. I do know that his heart does not desire to be a part of war. He does not have a desire to be a soldier."

"Yet he is. Why is he a soldier, a Captain, if his heart does not desire it?"

"Because that is how our father is. Faramir does not have the choice. He's more of a Ranger than a solider. He has amazing skills with a bow. He is not a fighter, but he will do everything he can to protect his men and make sure they have the best chance of survival. He does not wish to be a solider, but he does do his best none the less."

"Would he have a problem if I did return?"

"Not in the least. He has always wished for the return of the king ever since he was little. He always hoped it would happen in his life time. He would not fight you for the throne at all. I do have one request though."

"Which would be?"

"When we do return to Gondor, if the war is still going on, I would request that you keep it a secret from Faramir who you truly are."

"Why?"

"He does not do well with men in power. I do not want him to fear you based on your title. I would like him to know you first, so he sees that you mean no harm."

"I can grant you that request, but that does bring up other questions."

"Faramir is not like me. He has no heart for war or violence. If he could he would spend his days in the library curled up on the couch reading. He has always been the intelligent one out of the two of us. He can speak three languages including Elvish that Gandalf taught him when he was younger. He is shy and timid and he has not had the best experiences with men in power. It has been harder on him with having my father as Steward than I. I see that you are a good man, a man that can be trusted, but Faramir will only see that you are a man of power and that will make him more timid and fearful of you. I do not wish for that to happen. I do not want him to fear his own king. If he gets to know you first then I am hopeful that he will not fear you once you take the throne."

"I understand and I will keep that part a secret. I do not know how long it will be kept, but it will not be broken by me my brother."

"Thank-you brother. Now come, you have not had nearly enough ale tonight. We will worry about troubling problems tomorrow." Boromir said with a smile.

Aragorn smiled back and he allowed Boromir to put his arm around his shoulders once again and guided him back inside. Aragorn did feel better now that he knew how Boromir felt, but he did still worry about Faramir. He had never met Faramir and he didn't know how he was going to be around him. What Boromir said about Faramir only brought up more questions that Aragorn had about him. Why did Faramir have a fear of men in power? Why was he so shy and timid when Boromir was the opposite? Yes Aragorn understood that siblings were different and they were not identical, but still some traits were still there. It sounded like Boromir and Faramir were completely opposite of each other. Aragorn found himself to be curious about Faramir and he knew he would need to go looking for more answers another night. For now he would enjoy this victory and the company of men that he had fought beside. Tomorrow they would met and go over a new plan of attack.

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The next morning Aragorn, Gandalf, Gimli, Legolas, Boromir, Eomer and Eowyn were all in the throne room speaking with King Théoden about what their next move should be. It wasn't a heated discussion thankfully. They had all become friends after their battle at Helms Deep and now they were all acting like allies of Middle Earth.

"How can we be sure that Sauron won't try and attack Rohan again?" Eomer asked.

"There would not be a point. He has already suffered a defeat by Rohan. With Isengard destroyed and being run by Tree Beard he has no Orcs. There would not be a point in sending his Orcs from Mordor all the way out here." Aragorn said.

"How does anyone figure out where Sauron will attack next though? Surely, there are many different options for him." Eowyn said.

"It is Gondor that will suffer the true power of Sauron first. They will need our help. It will be Gondor that the fate of the world will be decided." Gandalf said.

"Are you certain that Sauron would attack there first?" Eomer asked.

"Gondor is the closest to Mordor. If Sauron wanted to strike the world of men with his full power, Gondor is the first city of men that his Orcs will come across. We have been fighting back herds of Orcs for a couple years now. Sauron has aligned himself with other villages of men that have grudges against Gondor. While the world has been at peace, Gondor has been fighting war after war for the least ten years." Boromir answered.

"How strong is Gondor after all of these years of war?" Théoden asked.

"Gondor has had some damage done to it, but it is still holding strong. I have not been there in a year, but when I left I did leave on the eve of victory. We had just taken back Osgiliath." Boromir said.

"How many soldiers does Gondor have?" Eomer asked.

"Six thousand in the whole kingdom of Gondor. They are spread out amongst different villages within Gondor." Boromir answered.

"How many villages are within Gondor?" Legolas asked.

"Nine major cities and twelve regions throughout the kingdom realm. Some of those regions are just farmlands that we use as harvest to feed the cities. Minas Tirith is where the Steward lives and is the largest city we have. Osgiliath used to be our kingdom's capital, but it has long been ruined and abandoned due to the Orcs that had taken over the city. We had just taken the city back when I left for Rivendell." Boromir said.

"What about Ithilien? What has become of it?" Aragorn asked.

"It has been abandoned and taken over by Mordor. My brother, Faramir, we there with a group of Rangers to try and kill some of the men that travel through there that are loyal to Sauron. We knew he would not be able to kill them all and eliminate that threat, but he and his men have been able to disrupt the supply lines. I am not sure what has become of any of Gondor since I have left. Before I left I did pull Faramir and his Ranger out of Ithilien to help take Osgiliath back. He was still there when I left." Boromir answered.

"It seems that Sauron is setting up the pieces to take Gondor." Théoden said.

"Sauron has been slowly working on taking over Gondor. Now that word has reached him about Aragorn he seems to be focusing more now on Gondor than before. I fear that Sauron will strike even harder on Gondor after this defeat. He will not risk the return of the king, for it could align the world of men. Gondor is where our focus needs to be. We need to see what state it is in and get it ready for this war. Sauron will strike it hard. We cannot wait for the beckons to be lit. We must ride out for Gondor." Gandalf said.

"We will need more than six thousand men to withstand the strength of Mordor." Eomer said.

"And we shall find some. I will send out riders to gather men all over this country. I will set up a meeting place for all the men to meet. I will go and meet them and get the men in order while you can go to Gondor to help prepare Gondor for this battle." Théoden said.

"I need to go to Gondor to see just what state it is in. I would also like to see my brother and make sure he is well." Boromir said.

"Are we sure Aragorn going would be a wise decision?" Gimli said.

"If we keep quiet about who Aragorn is then I see no problem with his coming. We do not need to start a civil war with the Steward right now." Gandalf answered.

"I agree. I would not deny Aragorn his birthright, but I do not think now would be the right time for that to happen. I do not know how many of the soldiers would standby Aragorn at the moment." Boromir added.

"I do not need to make claim of the throne. All I wish to do is win this war and save Middle Earth from the darkness. I will worry about the rest afterwards." Aragorn said.

"Then we ride for Gondor then?" Pippin asked. Him and Merry had been quiet this whole time just allowing the others to speak. For them it didn't matter where they went really. They were there to help in any way that they could, but they weren't fighters or soldiers. This wasn't up to them, they were just going along with them because it was what was right. They weren't going to sit by and not fight while Frodo and Sam were off trying to get to Mordor.

"We ride for Gondor. It's a three days journey from here." Gandalf said.

"Eomer, I would like for you to go with them. Eowyn, you can travel with me to help get the men ready. How long do you think we will have before Gondor becomes under attack?" Théoden asked Boromir.

"I am not sure. It will depend on what state Gondor is in. When we arrive I can send a messenger to you so you will know what state Gondor is in. When I left we were in good standings. We were still getting attacked by Orcs and men loyal to Sauron, but we had control over ninety percent of the kingdom. I hope that is still true." Boromir answered.

"Is your brother not good with planning and war?" Legolas asked.

"Faramir is very intelligent and has good instincts. The men are loyal to him and they will follow him into battle without thought. Faramir would not let the defense fall. I have worked hard for seventeen years to keep the defense strong and Gondor safe. He would not let the hard work be for nothing." Boromir said with a dead serious tone.

"We need to prepare to leave as soon as possible. The sooner we know more of Gondor's condition the better. As hopeful as you are Boromir it has been a year since you have been to Gondor. There is no telling what Mordor has done with Gondor since you have been gone." Gandalf said.

"I know my father and my brother would not let Gondor fall." Boromir said in a serious voice.

"How soon will we be able to leave?" Aragorn asked.

"Within the hour. We just need to prepare the horses for the travel." Eomer answered.

"Prepared the horses and I will get some men sent out to start sending the word out for men." Théoden said.

Everyone started to leave the throne room to get ready for the three day travel to Minas Tirith. Boromir was excited to see his city and his family once again. It had been a long year and he had missed Faramir. He hated having to leave him alone with his father. Boromir had no idea just how bad the relationship between Faramir and Denethor was. Faramir had kept a lot from Boromir because of fear of how Boromir would react to the information and knowing that he couldn't do anything to fix it. Their father was the Steward and what he said was law so telling Boromir wouldn't have changed anything, he wouldn't have been able to go against their father without getting hurt himself. Boromir was looking forward to seeing Faramir and trading stories about the last year.

Aragorn headed towards the stables to get his horse ready. He wanted to speak to Gandalf first though. The conversation last night about Faramir was still in Aragorn's mind and he found that he had more questions about a man that he had never met. Aragorn found Gandalf just outside of the stables and he went up to him.

"A word?" Aragorn asked softly as he looked around to make sure no one was around.

Gandalf just gave a nod and he started to walk away from the stables over to one of the benches away from any listening ears.

"Something troubling you?" Gandalf asked calmly.

"Last night I spoke with Boromir about how he would feel if I took the throne."

"I'm assuming he was not pleased with the idea."

"No, actually he was supportive of the idea."

"Well that is surprising. If it is not that, then what is troubling you?"

"He requested that I keep the truth about who I was a secret from his brother Faramir, until he knows me first."

"Hm" Gandalf said in a deep thought.

"He told me that Faramir has a fear of men in high power and that he wished for Faramir to know me first so he does not fear me. I find that troubling."

"Hm" Gandalf said once again.

"You obviously know something that I do not."

"Why do you find that troubling? That Faramir has a fear of men in power?"

"I am not sure. Here is a man that I have never met, yet I find him interesting and I am curious. Boromir is very confident and sure of himself. From what very little I got from Boromir, Faramir is shy and timid and he fears men in power. Yet his father is the Steward so he should not fear men in power. You have been in Gondor before; have you ever seen Faramir when he was younger?"

"Oh yes. The first time I saw young Faramir was when he was four. Very sweet boy, very shy. I found him in the library reading a book that I was shocked to see him reading. The book was at a much higher reading level then his age, yet he was able to read and understand it. When I saw him I knew there was something special about him. I knew he would do great things. He used to love my stories about the cities I have been to. I would talk to him for hours when I was in Minas Tirith. It was very sad when his mother died when he was just five. He was very close to her and was very hurt by it as any child would be. I tried to be around more for him, stayed closer to the realm of Gondor. I checked in on him when I could. His father did not approve of it. He started to call Faramir a Wizard pupil. His father and I have never gotten along."

"Not that that has ever stopped you before." Aragorn said with a smirk.

"No, no it has not." Gandalf smiled back.

"What was Faramir like when he was older?"

"He was still shy and timid. I had thought he would have grown out of it, but he did not. Whereas Boromir is loud and confident, Faramir is not. Faramir would prefer to be out of the spotlight and off by himself. He prefers quiet areas and less of a crowd. Boromir prefers to party and be loud with crowds. They are very opposite, but very close. Boromir has always done his best with the knowledge that he has to protect Faramir from anyone. Their father has always favored Boromir over Faramir for his own reasons that are not justified in my opinion. Even still there is no jealousy or hatred between the two brothers. His father's treatment of Faramir has made him cling more to Boromir."

"What has his father's treatment been like with Faramir?"

"The Steward loves Boromir and praises him. He makes sure everyone knows that Boromir is his son and his heir to the throne. In his eyes Boromir can do no wrong and he would never do or say anything to hurt Boromir. With Faramir it is the exact opposite I am afraid. His words towards Faramir are poison and have done nothing to help his confidence and self-worth. His father has made it very clear to Faramir that he does not love him or even care what happens to him. I do not know everything and there is even more that Boromir does not know. Faramir keeps quiet about everything his father has said or done to him. I do know that Faramir was never meant to be a solider. His soul is too pure. He has a kindred soul, much like yourself. He is very gentle and if given the choice he would never hurt anyone. He once told me that when he has to kill a man he feels evil. He cannot help, but wonder if that man was a family, if he was truly evil hearted or simply following orders of his commander. He understands that it is a kill or be killed situation, but that does not make it any easier for him. He is not a man born for war and if he had been given the chance he would never have been a soldier. He does it to please his father, but his father is blind to him. There is nothing that Faramir could do to please his father. Even if Faramir single handily killed Sauron himself, his father would still find a reason to belittle and humiliate him." Gandalf said sadly.

"Where is Boromir in all of this? If they are so close why is he letting his father treat Faramir like this?" Aragorn said with a slight anger towards Denethor.

"Boromir only knows what Faramir is willing to share. If Boromir knew everything that I knew or that Faramir would tell, then he would not follow his father. I do not know if either of them would be in Gondor if Boromir knew the whole truth. I believe that is why Faramir has always kept quiet. He does not want to cause pain to his brother. There is also fear there, of how Boromir would react to the information. Faramir is so used to being alone and handling everything on his own that the thought of even Boromir defending him against Denethor does not cross his mind. Faramir just wants his father's love, it is quite sad."

"That is sad. A son should know what the love of his father feels like. Do you think Faramir would give a fight if I was to take the throne?"

"Faramir is not like Denethor or Boromir. He does not care for glory or power. Faramir would make a fine Steward and leader. His men follow him without thought. The people of Gondor love him and trust him. Faramir is down to earth. He does not care for luxury or the finer things in life. He gives everything he can to the people on the lower levels of Minas Tirith. He will not get in the way of your return you need not worry about that. I will give a bit of council though if I may."

"Of course"

"If you are to assign a new Steward to take your place should something happen, I would choose Faramir over anyone else. He has a destiny about him. You are the king and Faramir is as close to a king as one can get. He was meant to be a leader and with him at your side the two of you will be able to restore all of Gondor to its glory. Leave Boromir to do what he does best and that is to fight. Faramir is intelligent, too intelligent to be left out in the field. He would be able to show you how to run a kingdom and with him by your side the people of Gondor will follow you."

"You care about him. It is not often that you care for someone, he must be one hell of a man to gain your heart."

"He is a very rare man with a kindred soul. You will see what I mean when you meet him. He could have very well been your son in another life. Have patience with him he will fear you at first, but he will learn to warm up to you and trust you. He will just need time."

"I am in no hurry. I am now more curious to meet him."

"He is a very good man who has been through a lot in his short life. He will need time to move passed everything that has happened. I do fear that he will not be able to overcome this war. Faramir is not a man for war."

"He has survived this long. With the help of his brother, I am certain he will pull through."

"I hope so. It would pain me to lose him."

"All wounds heal with time. With his brother there with him I am sure Faramir will be able to start to heal from this. Boromir seems excited to be going back to Gondor and back to Faramir."

"Boromir loves Faramir and he worries about him when he is away. Boromir has always loved Faramir more than anyone else in this world. It would not end well if Boromir found out everything that Faramir has been hiding. It is not just your return that could cause a civil war in Gondor."

"You fear what state Faramir will be in for it could cause a rift between Boromir and his father."

"I do fear that. There are things that I do not even know that has happened between Faramir and Denethor. There is even more things that Boromir does not know. Faramir is surrounded by walls that he has built in order to continue on each day. I fear that with Boromir not being there this past year Denethor has not held back. All it will take is one crack in Faramir's walls and all of the truth will come out. If there is a crack just seeing Boromir might be enough to open the floods. Gondor will not be strong enough to handle a civil war especially at this time. We need to get to Gondor as soon as we can. I fear Faramir needs help on more than one level."

"Let us ride then. It is a three day journey to Minas Tirith and we will not get there any faster sitting around here. There will be a time to wonder and plan for a return to the throne. For now we must focus on the survival of Gondor and Middle Earth." Aragorn said as he stood up.

Gandalf stood up as well and together they made their way back to the stables to head out for Gondor. None of them even knew what state Gondor would be in and Boromir was anxious to get home to see his brother for the first time in a year.


	2. Chapter Two

_**A/N: This chapter has mentions of past violence and very brief light torture. Other than that nothing to worry about. Positive feedback is welcomes and encouraged as I have never done something in this category before.**_

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Chapter Two

It had been three days since the fellowship had left Rohan and they had finally arrived in Gondor. They had been traveling for three days almost straight through. Merry was riding in front of Aragorn and Pippin was riding in front of Gandalf. They had been rotating the Hobbits around as they had traveled. They had only stopped for an hour here and there to eat and to rest. They needed to get to Gondor to see what state it was in and if they needed help. For all they knew Gondor was in ruins and no one was left alive. They could be walking into peace or into a war. Any delay could cost soldiers their life. Boromir was getting more anxious as they got closer to Minas Tirith. He so desperately wanted to see his younger brother's smiling face at his return. They had arrived at the white gates just three hours after sunrise and Boromir couldn't help the smile that graced his face.

"Wow, this is a big city." Pippin said as he looked at Minas Tirith in awe.

"There are ten levels to Minas Tirith. The higher the level the more wealthy you are. The Steward and his heirs live on the top level. In the past there have been problems with the lower levels feeling angry at the upper levels. A hundred years ago a past Steward was able to repair the rift between the levels and now there has been an even flow of food and supplies between the levels." Gandalf said.

"Gondor is at peace. Even with the war raging on everyone has come together to help the city. The other regions with the farmlands have been able to harvest more food for the other regions and major cities that have not been able to keep up with the demand. We have worked very hard for it and to keep it going." Boromir said.

"It appears that there is life in the city. It appears that Minas Tirith is not at war right now." Eomer said.

"It appears that way. Come let us see what the city holds." Gandalf said.

They went up to the white gate and it opened as they approached. As they galloped through the gates Boromir could see some of the watchmen at their posts and they gave him a nod as he galloped through. Beregond came down the path from the first level on his horse. Boromir smiled at seeing his brother's guard.

"Beregond, it is good to see you my friend." Boromir said with a big smile.

Beregond did not look happy though, even with the return of Boromir their General.

"My Lord Boromir there is an urgent matter that I must speak to you about, privately." Beregond said as he eyed his company. Beregond knew about Gandalf, but he did not know the others and he knew they were not men of Gondor.

"What is wrong Beregond? Is it Osgiliath?"

"No my Lord, it is Captain Faramir." Beregond said with sorrow.

"No, please do not tell me my brother is dead." Boromir said with fear to his voice.

"No my Lord he is not dead, at least I do not think. We really must speak privately my Lord."

"These men are with me. We are here to fight in this war together and have been for close to six months now. They will only hear what you tell me from me afterwards. You might as well tell us all together now. Where is my brother?" Boromir said in a serious voice.

"I do not know my Lord. He has been missing for a week now." Beregond said with a heavy heart.

"Beregond, you are my brother's personal guard. You are his right hand man. Your whole job is to know where he is. You go everywhere with him when he is not in the city. It has been that way since he was nineteen and became a Ranger. How can he be missing?" Boromir snapped.

Beregond did not take it personally he knew that Boromir would be angered by this information. Everyone was. Beregond and the other Rangers had been searching the city for the past week just trying to find him, but they had not been able to.

"Beregond, tell us everything you know." Gandalf said.

"Two weeks ago we had gotten word that a small army of men where passing through Ithilien with Elephants. They had plans to attack Minas Tirith with the Orcs that were trying to break through Osgiliath. Captain Faramir made the decision to go with a group of twenty Rangers to Ithilien and to bring down the small army. We were successful. Although, we did come upon three small creatures who we thought were to be spies. As it turns out it was two Hobbits and a gangly creature named Gollum."

"Frodo and Sam. You've seen them?" Pippin asked with hope to his voice.

"We did. We did not know at the time who they were, but Captain Faramir was able to determine that they were the ones carrying the enemy's power. As you know your father has made it law that this mighty gift was to be brought to him. Anyone who goes against this law their life with be forfeit. I tried my best to convince your brother that he must obey your father. He could not go against his ruling without you here to protect him from Lord Denethor. He would not listen to me or to his men. We brought them to Osgiliath. Captain Faramir wanted to at least give them a safe passage to the other side of the river. He gave them food and water. He then showed them the sewer tunnel that leads under the river and comes out into the forest. He let them go; he did not even try to take the ring. To be honest my Lord, I had the feeling that should you had been here he would have went with them. We could all tell that he wished he could have done more for them. He could have gone to protect them."

"And I would have let him. If it was something he felt he needed to do, I would have let him. If you have not seen him in a week, maybe he went after them after all. Did my father know of this?"

"When we reached Osgiliath a messenger was sent by another Captain to your father. After a day had passed and no one brought Lord Denethor the ring he sent a messenger for Captain Faramir to come and speak to him. Your brother left a week ago and no one has seen him since. We know he has not left the city, but we cannot find him anywhere. All of his Rangers have searched the city even the cells, but we have not been able to find him. Your father won't speak to any of us and his personal guards are refusing to allow any of us to even question anyone near the tower or working within." Beregond said.

"Are you sure no one has seen him leave? Is the gate the only way in and out of the city?" Aragorn asked.

"It is the only way and no one has seen him leave. All of the horses are accounted for as well. He is in this city somewhere; if he is not already dead I am afraid." Beregond said sadly.

"He is not dead, he cannot be dead." Boromir said softly to himself before he addressed Beregond. "Did you check the Steward's cells?"

"My Lord?" Beregond asked with confusion on his face.

"In the tower there are five cells used to hold the most dangerous criminals. Those that perform treason by telling our enemies vital information about Gondor's defenses. They are kept there for questioning before execution." Boromir explained.

"I did not know such place existed. We have checked all over this city, perhaps Captain Faramir is there." Beregond said with a slight hope to his voice.

Without saying anything Boromir took off at a gallop towards the upper levels. Everyone followed behind him, all hoping to find Faramir there and in good health. Boromir didn't know what to think. Part of him was wishing that Faramir was there in one of those cells and the other part was wishing he wasn't. If Faramir was in one of those cells it was because his father ordered it. Boromir didn't know how to even go through his emotions at the thought that his father would order Faramir to be held in a cell. Faramir did the right thing by letting Frodo and Sam go. Something that he could not do himself. Faramir had the stronger mind and he was constantly proving that, but his father refused to see it. Boromir didn't expect the city to be the same as it was when he left a year ago, but he was hoping that with him being away that Faramir and his father would have been able to get closer with his absence. Now Boromir feared that he left his younger brother at the mercy of his father.

"Gandalf, I don't understand. I thought Faramir was Boromir's younger brother." Pippin said softly to Gandalf.

"He is."

"Then why would he be in a cell for letting Frodo and Sam go?"

"Because the Steward's mind is weak and clouded by the need for power. He loves Boromir and shows it at every chance he gets. With Faramir it is opposite. I would not put it above him to have Faramir kept locked away in a cell."

"The world of men is so confusing. In the Shire if a Hobbit does something wrong they are made to do the dishes or worse sent to bed without supper. We have no need for cells and locked rooms."

"Yes if the world took a page or two from Hobbits the world of men would be more at peace. Perhaps when Aragorn is King you can have a word with him." Gandalf said with a smile.

"At least we know Frodo and Sam are still alive. That's something."

"Yes it is."

They all galloped through the streets and up the ramps to the different levels in the city. They finally reached the top level, level ten, and Boromir continued to lead the way over to the side of the mountain. There was an alleyway that was between the tower and the mountain, not big enough for a horse, just big enough for men to fit through. They all got off their horse and Boromir walked quickly down the alleyway with everyone following behind him. He used his key that he had; only he and his father had a key. The only reason he did have one was in case he came upon a traitor and his father was not there to give him the key. Boromir opened the door to reveal a long dark tunnel. The tunnel was lit by a few torches that were hanging on the tunnel walls. As they walked down the hallway they saw cells that were empty. After they walked by the fifth one everyone thought that Faramir was not here, but Boromir kept walking.

"There is an interrogation room just at the end of the hallway." He explained.

They continued to walk the rest of the way down the hallway and when they reached the end Boromir opened the door to the unlocked room. As he walked in his blood ran cold. There were three of his father's personal guards in the room. There was also a man that had both arms spread out over his head with his wrists in shackles that came from the ceiling. He was on his knees in torn and dirty clothes. There was blood all over the clothes as well as dirt. The man had been clearly whipped and beaten. Boromir knew who this man was, it was his younger brother. He knew without seeing his face that it was Faramir. A guard held a dirty cloth over his face and had his head pulled back. Another was pouring water over the cloth, drowning his brother, a torture method that had been used in the past. Boromir saw red as he went into the room and grabbed the man's wrist that was pouring water over his brother's face. He twisted the wrist and didn't stop until he heard the snapping of bone. The guard screamed in pain and Boromir punched him on the jaw with all of his strength, knocking the man out. He turned to see that Aragorn and Legolas had knocked out the other two. Boromir started to search through the man's pockets to find a key to the shackles, but he was unable to.

"I found a key." Legolas said as he stood to try the key on the shackles.

Boromir thought he might cry in joy when Faramir's left wrist was free from the shackle. Boromir held onto Faramir as Legolas unlocked the shackle holding Faramir's right wrist. Once Faramir was free Boromir placed Faramir on the ground on his back. To his horror he noticed that Faramir was not breathing.

"He is not breathing." Boromir said with panic to his voice.

"It is water in his lungs." Eomer said as he bent down next to Faramir.

Eomer began chest compressions on Faramir to try and get the water out of his lungs. After a few tries Faramir began to cough and choke on the water that was coming out of his lungs. Boromir and Eomer carefully rolled Faramir over onto his side so he could cough up the water and be able to breathe once again. After a few moments Faramir stopped coughing up water, but he didn't open his eyes. Boromir pulled Faramir into his arms, still kneeling on the floor.

"Faramir, can you hear me brother?" Boromir said to his brother, but Faramir didn't even move.

"He needs the House of Healing my Lord." Beregond said.

That seemed to be enough to snap Boromir out of his thoughts and focus on what needed to be done. With the help of Eomer, they got Faramir up off the floor and put an arm around each of their shoulders. Boromir and Eomer carried the weight of Faramir as they traveled down the hallway and outside to their horses. Aragorn took Boromir's place with helping Eomer hold up Faramir while Boromir got back on his horse. Between all three of them they were able to get Faramir in front of Boromir on his horse. The others quickly got on their horses and they all followed Boromir down to where the House of Healing was on the sixth level. Once they arrived Aragorn and Eomer helped to get Faramir off from Boromir's horse before Boromir himself got down and took Eomer's place at his brother's side. They brought Faramir inside the House of Healing and was quickly greeted by Loreth, the eldest healer in Gondor. She looked horrified to see Faramir in such a state and she quickly showed them a place where they could place Faramir down.

"What happened my Lord?" Loreth asked as she went over to Faramir who was on the cot.

"I do not know. Can you heal him?" Boromir asked making sure he kept his anger from his voice. It was not this old woman's fault that Faramir was in this state.

"I will do my best my Lord."

"Do you have any athelas?" Aragorn asked.

"We do not keep any on hand here. We treat serious wounds. Athelas is normally only used to help women with headaches or joint pains from riding all day my Lord." Loreth said.

"You need to find some. Athelas has a stronger use than that if prepared properly." Aragorn said.

"Yes my Lord. Hallien." Loreth called out to a younger boy who helped in the House of Healing.

"Yes my Lady?" Hallien said as he ran into the room.

"You must go and find some Athelas leaves. Get it from anyone you can and hurry."

"Yes my Lady."

Hallien ran from the room to quickly try to locate some of the weed. Boromir looked down at his brother for the first time to truly look at him. He was covered in blood all over his front, back, his face and chunks of his hair were matted with blood. The right half of his face was swollen as was his eye from beatings by a right handed man. His chest and back were covered in whip markings that Boromir could see through the tattered shirt. Boromir felt like he couldn't breathe, that he couldn't move. He stood there watching as Loreth began to remove Faramir's shirt once a basin of warm water and a cloth was brought to her by another of the healing servants. Boromir watched as Aragorn moved to help Loreth with removing Faramir's shirt. Boromir knew that it should be him helping Loreth taking care of Faramir, but Boromir just couldn't seem to move. After a year of being away from his brother he never thought that when he finally laid eyes on him, he would be getting tortured. They were able to get Faramir's shirt off just as Hallien came back in with a few leaves of Athelas. Legolas took them from him before he spoke.

"Get a mug with warm water." Legolas told the boy.

Aragorn and Loreth rolled Faramir onto his side so they could see how badly injured his back was. There was blood there as well, but on parts of his body that was not covered in blood Aragorn could see scars there as well. They were in different stages of healing, some only a month old and some going back years. He looked over at Boromir and could see he was in shock, but Aragorn knew that he needed Boromir to see this.

"Boromir." Aragorn called over to him gently.

Boromir snapped out of his thoughts and looked at Aragorn. Aragorn nodded his head to indicate that he wanted Boromir to come over to him. Boromir moved over to Aragorn and looked at Faramir's back. He closed his eyes for a moment at the amount of blood and lashes that covered Faramir's back. Boromir was not sure why Aragorn wanted him to see this. It must have shown on his face because Aragorn silently pointed out scars from lashes that were only a month old. Aragorn could see the confusion on Boromir's face. He then showed him a spot where there was a scar close to four years old from what could have been a cane. Boromir didn't know where any of these scars or marks came from. He knew that something could have happened while he was away, but that one scar was there for four years at least. Boromir should know where it came from, surely Faramir would have said something.

"Beregond, take Lady Loreth's spot." Boromir said.

Loreth looked confused, but she did not argue. Beregond moved to help hold Faramir up on his side carefully. Beregond didn't say anything, but he knew what Boromir would be looking at. It was not his story to tell though and he wasn't about to betray Faramir's trust in him. Hallien came back into the room with the mug of warm water and handed it to Legolas. Legolas got to work on getting the leaves into the water and making the medicine. By now everyone was looking at Faramir's back to see what the commotion was. Boromir grabbed a cloth from the warm water in the basin and began to carefully wipe the blood away from Faramir's back. As more blood wiped off the more scars and past injuries they could see. By the time all of the blood had been wiped from Faramir's back, his back was covered in scars, current and past injuries from a whip or a cane. Boromir looked right at Beregond's eyes as he spoke.

"Has he been captured in the past year?" Boromir asked with anger and concern.

"No my Lord." Beregond answered.

"Then where did all of these past injuries come from?" Boromir asked.

"I do not know my Lord." Beregond said with as much strength as he could muster. He didn't want to lie to Boromir, for he was also his boss, but he wasn't going to tell him what he knew Faramir wanted kept secret.

Aragorn could tell that Beregond was lying. He looked over to Gandalf and could see in Gandalf's eyes that he saw through the lie as well. Aragorn was going to comment, but a small shake of Gandalf's head had him holding his tongue.

"Aragorn, the tea is ready." Legolas said.

Boromir and Aragorn carefully placed Faramir back on his back. Aragorn lifted Faramir's head and supported it with his left hand as he took the mug from Legolas with his right. He slowly poured in the tea giving Faramir the chance to swallow the liquid. It was slow going, but once the tea was gone he placed Faramir back down on the bed. Boromir and Beregond moved out of the way so Loreth and Aragorn could tend to Faramir's wounds. Boromir stood by and watched as they cleaned the wounds and bandaged them. He watched as they cleaned the blood from his face and then you could see how black and blue Faramir's face was. It was a good two hours before Faramir was all cleaned up and had bandages all around his torso. They had gone through five basins of warm water and many cloths just to get all of the blood off from his body. His hair was still matted, but Boromir knew he could always clean it once Faramir was settled. Boromir had many questions, but he knew he needed to wait until Hallien and Loreth were out of the room first. He knew based on the guards' uniform that they were tower guards, but they were always guarding the tree and they never took part in any of the questionings before. It didn't make any sense for them to be there. The other problem was how they even got into the hallway. Only him and his father held keys to the doorway so that meant that his father had placed Faramir there. There was no telling what his father knew that had happened to Faramir. It was possible that his father had those guards keep an eye on Faramir and he didn't know that his youngest son was being tortured and beaten. Boromir didn't even want to think about the possibility that his father did know and allowed for it to happen. Faramir had bandages wrapped all over his torso and they left him without a shirt for when they would need to change the bandages tomorrow. Boromir couldn't believe that this was happening to his sweet younger brother. Boromir never expected for this to happen to either of them and if it did he had always hoped that it would never happen to his brother. After seeing all of the old wounds and scars on his back Boromir had even more questions. He also had a nagging feeling in the pit of his stomach that he already knew what happened. Boromir feared that his father had something to do with those injuries and just the thought made him sick.

Loreth and Hallien left them alone, letting Boromir know that they would come by later on in the day to check on him. Boromir went and sat down beside the cot. Boromir looked over to the last servant about to leave and he spoke out.

"Bring me some cold water and a clean cloth."

"Yes my Lord." The servant said before she left to fetch what Boromir wanted.

"Cold water?" Merry asked softly.

"It will help bring the swelling down." Legolas said softly back to Merry and Pippin.

Aragorn stood beside Boromir and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"He does not have a fever. He is lucky for that and nothing is broken just bruised, in a few days he will be fine my brother."

Boromir didn't say anything he just took the comforting hand on his shoulder and Aragorn's words as comfort. A few moments later the servant came back in with a bowl of cold water and a clean cloth. She handed it to Boromir and Boromir gave her a small soft smile as thanks before she left. Boromir placed the cloth in the cold water and rung it out before he gently placed it against Faramir's right half of his face that was swollen. Once the cloth was there he held onto it, but he turned his attention to Beregond.

"I want to know everything that has happened in this past year Beregond, everything."

"I will tell you my Lord, but first if I may go and fetch something you must see. It will help you to better understand the seriousness of Gondor's situation." Beregond said.

"Very well."

"I won't be long my Lord."

Beregond left the room and headed back to his home to grab the papers that he needed. Beregond knew that having to tell Boromir everything that had happened in the past year was not going to be easy, but he needed to hear it. Beregond was just hoping that Boromir wouldn't blame Faramir for everything that has happened to Gondor. The room was quiet as no one knew what to even say. There was a lot that needed to be done, and a lot that needed to be discussed, but until Beregond came back to report on the state of Gondor there wasn't anything anyone could do. Eomer was the first to finally break the silence.

"From what I saw those first two levels were in rough shape."

"The first two levels tend to take a hit during the time of war. They are always the first to get destroyed by the enemies." Boromir said.

"Who lives down on those levels?" Merry asked.

"Peasants mostly. Soldiers and Rangers live on the second and third level. Before my father was Steward they used to live higher, but it would take them longer to set out for battles. He had them move down lower for a quicker response time. The soldier stables are on the third level as well." Boromir answered.

"Shouldn't the lower two levels be getting rebuilt?" Gimli asked.

"They probably are. My father would have ordered it; it could be they are waiting for supplies. The other regions all have different jobs that are ordered out to them. Lossarnach is our farmlands; they grow and harvest wheat, vegetables and fruits. They also make the bread and dairy products. They are only a day's travel from here. They are the main source of our food supply. Another region Enas Das, they are a smaller village that helps supply wood to Gondor. Anorien; is a small village near the mountain they help produce stone for the walls of Minas Tirith. On the fourth level is the armory, it takes up half of the level and employs peasants and other villagers to help with the wealth in the city." Boromir explained.

"The higher up on the levels you are signifies that you have a greater wealth and purpose to the city. Noble men live up closer to the fifth and sixth level while the Steward and his sons live on the tenth." Aragorn added.

"See that is the difference between men and dwarves. Dwarves share their wealth with everyone in the city. They don't hoard it for themselves while there are others who are starving." Gimli said.

"Except the dwarves do not share it outside of their race." Legolas said.

"Nor do men or elves." Gimli said back.

"Elves give gifts of weapons and protection. They do not give a solid coin, but we do share our knowledge and wealth with the world." Legolas said.

"He has you there." Pippin said with a smile.

Just then Beregond walked back into the room with a thick folder in his hand. He held it out to Boromir and Boromir took it with his free hand. He gave a questioning look at Beregond and Beregond spoke to explain himself.

"I do not want you to blame Faramir for what has happened in the past year my Lord. With this you will be able to see every request he made to the council and your father. All of the men he has and where they are located and what rations we have for food, water and weapons." Beregond explained in a serious tone.

"Why would I blame Faramir? What has happened?" Boromir asked.

"Many things have happened in the past year my Lord. Some I do not even know about, only Faramir does and he does not speak about it. Since your departure the council and the Lord Steward has been extremely hard on Faramir. Demanding too much and giving too little. There have been many loses on different levels. Currently we only have four free lands in Gondor. Lossarnach, Minas Tirith, Dol Amroth and Osgiliath. Osgiliath is hanging on by a thread as it is." Beregond started.

"How is that possible? When I left here a year ago we had loss three regions and that was all. How can we only have four free lands now?" Boromir asked with anger.

"It was not Faramir's fault at all my Lord. He has tried to keep the lands free from Orcs, but it has not been an easy task. We do not have enough men my Lord." Beregond said.

"I thought Gondor had six thousand men? How can that not be enough?" Eomer asked.

"We have six thousand plus my Uncle the Prince of Dol Amroth has two thousand as well. How did my brother lose so much land with that many men?" Boromir asked with anger in his voice.

"My Lord please, it was not Faramir's fault. If you would please listen to me before you get mad at your brother you will find that he is not the person your anger should be direct towards." Beregond said in a pleading voice.

"Well spit it out Beregond." Gandalf said.

"In those reports you will see the rations that we have been given. I'm sure you have noticed how thin your brother is." Beregond said.

Boromir and the others had actually not noticed how thin Faramir was. They all looked down at Faramir and they could see that he was thin, thinner than he had been a year ago. Faramir had never been a big man, but he was too small now. You could see the outline of his rib cage. His eyes were sunk in slightly, or the one that was not swollen at the moment. He was thin, dangerously thin.

"I actually had not noticed until you mentioned it. Why is he so thin? Has he not been eating?" Boromir asked with a softer tone as he looked at Faramir.

"He has not been eating often my Lord and that is the problem, none of the men have been eating much. We have no food." Beregond said sadly.

"Why do you have no food?" Legolas asked.

"Because Lord Steward has cut down the rations to a mere quarter of what they were a year ago." Beregond said sadly.

"He what? Why would he do that? The rations we had were just enough to begin with a year ago. Why would he cut any of it down?" Boromir asked as he looked at Beregond again.

Aragorn moved and grabbed the folder that was still sitting closed in Boromir's hand. Boromir allowed him as he was still holding and moving the cold cloth against Faramir's swollen right half of his face. Aragorn started to look through the folder as Beregond continued.

"I do not know my Lord. Faramir has made many requests to your father and the council, but every request has only resulted in our rations being cut down more. I am afraid Gondor is in serious trouble my Lord. Your father has banished Prince Imrahil from leaving Dol Amroth as well as his men. With Prince Imrahil's men no longer able to help us we lost two thousand men. That brought us down to six thousand, which should have been enough, but it was not my Lord. Your father ordered the numbers outside of Minas Tirith down in half leaving the soldiers and Rangers guarding the outer cities and regions at a great disadvantage. Fifteen men do not stand a chance against a hundred Orcs. We lost men quick and at a large rate. If they were not being killed in battles they were dying from starvation and dehydration. We lost a thousand men that way, from dehydration and starvation. We would go a week without food, Faramir and I have gone two weeks multiple times in the last year. He would always make sure his men had something before he would even think about eating. Another two thousand had been killed in battles that we should never have been ordered to be in. Faramir, he tried his best to convince the council and your father, but they would not listen to him. The Rangers would run out of arrows and have to reuse broken ones, collect them from the dead and hope it would be enough. A thousand other Rangers and soldiers left. They took their families and left in search of a better land. There was not enough food coming into Minas Tirith to feed their families, their children. That only left us with two thousand men to protect all of Gondor. Osgiliath was taking up a lot of resources and strength to keep it from being overrun. It is barely hanging on. Orcs started to attack other cities and regions before we could even receive word. Six months ago Faramir made the decision to empty out all of the regions that were free of Orcs, except for Lossarnach. All of the villagers were brought here.

Lossarnach was a completely different problem. Your father and the council had decided to cut down on their profits, taking more taxes not just from them, but Minas Tirith as well. For a while Lossarnach was refusing to harvest and produce any of the food. Faramir went to Lossarnach to speak to them after a month had gone by and no food had been delivered here. The top two levels had enough food stored for themselves, they did not give to anyone lower than them. Villagers were starving to death. Faramir was able to convince them to continue harvesting and producing with the promise that one day the war would be over and things would be set right. He was able to get them to see that they should not let innocent people and children die, because of what they feel towards the top two levels. Even with the food coming back into the city the levels eight and lower all began to hate your father, especially level one and two. They were paying taxes, are paying taxes, that have doubled in the last year. Most have lost their homes, unable to afford food and taxes. Now most of the two levels are homeless from not enough pay or their home had been destroyed. We have not been able to rebuild anything, because Ena Das has been taken over by Orcs and the council and your father refuse to pay for outside wood. They have cut back on most of the essentials that the city needs to function. The armory has barely been used in the last six months, because he refuses to pay the workers. Stating that in time of war they should work for free. Without villagers working in the armory we have only a few arrows in supply and swords. So you see my Lord, losing so much in the last year cannot be blamed on Faramir. He has done his best with what scraps he has been given." Beregond said in a serious voice as he looked at Faramir.

"He is right, Gondor is in serious trouble. An army of two thousand is only getting enough food and water for an army of five hundred. Their weapon supply is even worse. The Steward has gone mad if he thinks that these numbers will keep Gondor from falling." Aragorn said.

"It is not just the food that has brought down the moral of not only the army, but the villagers as well. The Steward has locked the library and placed guards at every public garden and park. He had banned even the children from playing in the parks stating that in a time of war everyone should be working and there should be no time for games. Faramir has been trying to keep the people at peace and not try and overthrow the Steward, but it has not been easy. In the last week with Faramir missing the people have gotten worse. A group of men set fire to a nobleman's house just three days ago. The city is reaching a dangerous level where if the villagers turn against Minas Tirith we could all be in danger." Beregond said.

"It makes no sense for my father to do that." Boromir said.

"Was there a falling out between the Steward and the Prince?" Gandalf asked.

"Not that I am aware of." Beregond answered.

"And my uncle is just taking this? Why has he not done something to help even if he cannot leave his land?" Boromir asked.

"Because my Lord even though he is a Prince, he is only an appointed Prince. The Steward still overrules him." Beregond answered.

"We need to send word to him and have him come down here to talk it out with my father. We need all the men we can get. We also need to send a messenger with an update to King Théoden in Dunharrow." Boromir said.

"I am afraid I cannot do that my Lord. All of the messengers have been forbidden to leave Minas Tirith. Faramir tried to send word to the Prince, hoping that he will go against your father and continue to help. Your father removed all of our messengers and replaced them with a handful of ones he picked personally. They make sure we do not send word to places we are not allowed to. In order to send a message to either parties it has to go through your father." Beregond said.

"This is madness." Legolas said.

"And how does the Steward expect to win a war if he does not allow alliances to be made?" Eomer asked.

"And people say Dwarfs are greedy." Gimli grumbled.

"I do not know my Lord what the Steward is thinking, but I fear it is nothing good." Beregond said.

"So what do we do if we can't get word out?" Merry asked.

"I will speak with my father and have the messengers reinstated. We need to work on reclaiming some of these lands." Boromir said.

"Beregond, what lands have the least amount of Orcs in them? Do you know?" Aragorn asked.

"Enas Das has just shy of a hundred based on a report from a week ago. Anorien, has roughly fifty Orcs that we know of. The other regions we do not know. We also do not know what condition these regions will be in." Beregond answered.

"Those two are the most important along with Lossarnach. We need to clear those two lands and make sure the farmland is well protected." Aragorn said.

"What riders do we have here?" Boromir asked.

"We have a hundred Rangers that are able to leave, but they are refusing to do so." Beregond answered.

"Why?" Boromir asked with anger.

"They have been refusing to leave until their Captain had been returned to them. With Faramir missing that truly was the last crack before the glass shattered. Your father and the council has put him through a lot since your leave." Beregond said sadly as he looked at Faramir.

"What does that mean?" Boromir asked.

"Two weeks after your leave your father had the servants pack up everything in your brother's room and place it in storage. I mean everything, his clothes, weapons, books, personal items. They took everything out of it and placed it in storage. Faramir was summoned to speak with your father and he wanted to clean up and change his clothes before he spoke to your father, only to find his door locked. I am sure your father told him why he had done that, but Faramir would not say. That was not all though, he would not let Faramir stay on the Steward level while he was in the city, making him homeless. Your father also took all of his money, everything he had saved up. Your father left him completely broke with no home and not even a change of clothes. Some of the men that are close to Faramir's size had given him some clothes to wear. When Faramir is in the city for longer than a few hours he stays on level one with some of the other men that sleep in a few of the make shift shelters that we have. Without you here to protect him from your father my Lord, Faramir has slowly been slipping away. He sleeps, but he does not rest. He is constantly plagued by nightmares or stress keeping his body from resting. Your father's poisonous words consuming his mind. I fear he will shatter." Beregond answered sadly.

"I will speak with my father. I will try and see what I can repair within Minas Tirith and the men. We need these lands taken back over though, so we can even consider to rebuild homes for people. Speak with the Rangers and soldiers that we have available here. Let them know that Faramir is here and will make a full recovery. Let them know that I am here as well. I also want you to bring me two of the messengers that we used to use so I can send word." Boromir said.

"I will get on that my Lord. If I could make a suggestion as well my Lord?" Beregond asked.

"Yes?"

"Before you speak with the Steward, I would request that you take a walk around the lower levels to see what state it is in." Beregond suggested.

"That is actually a good idea. It would give you a better perspective of the state Gondor is in." Gandalf said.

"A word of caution though my Lord, do not be surprised if people glare or whisper about you. The villagers and the army do not fully trust you at the moment." Beregond said gently.

"Why would they not trust me?" Boromir asked with anger.

"Because everyone knows you are the Steward's favorite son. They do not know if you would support his decisions and that is causing a mistrust among the city and the army." Beregond said calmly.

"And my brother is trusted?" Boromir asked.

"Faramir is known as the people's prince. He has done everything he can to help them. Rebuild shelters, he's even stolen food from the Palace and gave it to those women and children that were starving to death. Faramir has the city's loyalty and trust." Beregond answered.

"Go and get the messengers and get whoever is here in the city together to ride out to Enas Das." Boromir ordered.

Beregond just gave a bow and headed out of the room and went to collect two messengers and his men. Boromir couldn't believe everything that had happened. He couldn't even say there was some mistake in all of this, because there was a file as thick as a book with every request that Faramir had made to his father and the council. All of which had either been denied or ignored. None of this made any sense to Boromir and he knew he would need to speak to his father about this. Boromir just prayed there was some mistake or his father was being overruled by the council.

"Boromir, why don't you go and look at the city. I will stay here with Faramir and keep him company." Gandalf suggested.

"I'll go with you." Aragon said.

"As will I." Legolas added.

"The sooner you see the city and speak to your father the soon all of this mess can be sorted." Gandalf said calmly.

"He has scars that are years old, months old from a whip or a cane. You spoke with him all the time when he was younger. Did he ever mention anything to you?" Boromir asked softly as he looked at Gandalf and Gandalf could see confusion in Boromir's eyes. He was truly just trying to understand what is going on.

"No he never spoke to me about any injuries. I am afraid I cannot tell you where they came from exactly." Gandalf said.

"This is war he could have been injured while you were away or while he was away in another area." Eomer suggested.

"He would have told me." Boromir said.

"He might not have felt there was anything to tell. All soldiers get injuries in war. He might have thought nothing of it." Gimli said.

"Even still he should have told me. I am his brother I should know about these injuries. Injuries that had scared him. I've only been gone a year and yet so much has happened. It makes no sense for my father to be acting this way. There must be some misunderstanding behind all of this." Boromir said still not looking to accept the truth in this situation.

"There just might be, but are you prepared to face the worst should your father be the one responsible for the loss that Gondor has faced?" Gandalf asked.

"I don't know. I can't see him doing this." Boromir said as he looked at Faramir.

"That might be something you have to face before this is over." Gandalf said evenly as he looked at Faramir.

"What does that mean? Do you know something that I don't?" Boromir asked as he looked at Gandalf.

"I only know what I have observed and what Faramir has told me. I will not betray his trust by sharing what he has told me in confidence." Gandalf said calmly.

"I would never ask you to. I will have to speak to him once he is awake and able to." Boromir said.

"The army is going to be a problem. We just lost four thousand plus the two thousand that your uncle possess. We need more men if we are going to keep Gondor standing while we wait for my uncle to gather enough men to take on Mordor." Eomer said.

"I will send a messenger to my uncle and see if I can arrange for him to come down. He will allow his men to help as long as I can get my father to agree." Boromir said.

"A thousand men left with their families for better land. We could reach out to them and see if they will come back." Legolas suggested.

"Men are a problem, but so is the city. If we do not start to repair the damage that has been done within the city we will never win this war. We need to start to gain the villagers trust so they will go back to making weapons. Having thousands of men will only take us so far. It will be nothing if we have no food and weapons to give them." Aragon said.

"But from what Beregond said the village people are not happy with the Steward and they are not looking to help in any way." Eomer said.

"We need to try and repair the damage that has been done by the Steward and the council. We will not win this war if the villagers won't help to produce weapons for the men." Gandalf said.

"They can't survive off nothing though. They have a point. If the Steward is neglecting them and leaving them to starve and be homeless they won't see the point in helping." Legolas said.

"Brings us back to needing to see the city before the Steward is spoken to. We need to see just what condition the city is in and see how the villagers are reacting to it all." Eomer said.

The door opened and two young boys walked in. They were no older than eighteen and both looked nervous to be there.

"What are you doing here?" Boromir asked before the two boys could even speak.

"I am Hamilas and this is my friend Mindial. Lord Beregond said you wished for two messengers to come and speak with you." The one young man said.

"Yes I did, but you are not messengers that I know of. You are barely old enough to be in the army." Boromir said.

"We just started a month ago my Lord. We are the only ones that were willing to send a message for you. The others are not happy my Lord. Lord Beregond said it was vital so we agreed." Mindial said.

"What do you mean the others refused to come? I am their Captain they will follow my orders." Boromir said clearly angry that his men were refusing to listen to him.

"My apologises my Lord, but they do not feel that way. Captain Faramir is their Captain and with how he has been treated within the past year they do not trust the Steward or yourself my Lord. They have all heard rumours of the Steward's behaviour towards Captain Faramir." Mindial said.

"They look at you as the enemy just as the Steward until they see otherwise. They are only here for Captain Faramir and should he fall they will take their families and leave the White City." Hamilas added.

"I am not about to let these people starve and live on the ground. I have been away fighting for this war. I am not my father and I have never abandoned these people in the past or my men." Boromir said with anger.

"I'm sorry my Lord, but you will have to prove that and gain their trust once more." Hamilas said.

"We will deliver the messages for you if you wish still my Lord." Mindial added.

"Have either of you ever been in a fight?" Boromir asked.

"We have my Lord. We are aware of the risks my Lord." Mindial said.

"One of you will go to my uncle in Dol Amroth and the other will go and deliver a message to King Theoden in Dunharrow. You are to deliver the messages and then return." Boromir said.

"Yes my Lord." Hamilas said.

"Are the messages ready my Lord?" Mindial asked.

"No I will prepare them. Return in thirty minutes and I shall have them for you. Dismiss." Boromir said.

The young men both bowed before they left and would return in thirty minutes to retrieve the messages and then leave. Thirty minutes later Boromir had the two messages ready to be sent and he handed them each over to the two young men. With the messages being sent Boromir, Aragon, Legolas, Gimli and Eomer headed out to look at the different lower levels in the White City. Gandalf and the two hobbits stayed with Faramir to keep him company or in case he woke up. The five of them headed out and decided to walk down to the lower levels so they could see more than what they would have on their horses. The House of Healing was on the fifth level and from what they could see that level wasn't too bad. However, as they headed lower they could visually notice an extreme difference. The armory on the third level was indeed closed and it looked like it had been for a good six months. All of the parks on each level were guarded off by Tower guards as well as the library. When they reached the second level they could see that most of the homes were nothing more than piles of stone and wood. People were living homeless on the street. The street was lined with makeshift houses and tents. The villagers had torn and dirty clothes, they could see the hunger in their eyes and body. Boromir didn't want to believe it, but as he saw the destruction on the two lowest levels he knew that these levels had indeed been neglected. He would need to have a very long conversation with his father to see just what has been going on and why these levels and their people were being neglected. The dirty looks didn't go unnoticed either by the five companions as they walked by some of the villagers. It was clear that there was hostility in the air and even towards Boromir. This was new to Boromir, because he had never had any bad blood between himself and the villagers. He didn't spend much time with them, he was always with the army working on defending the city and Gondor. Faramir was always out with people and interacting with them. Faramir always had interests in anything that wasn't about war or an army. It was why they made such a great pair, they were two halves and when they worked together they were whole. Boromir knew he would need to try and repair the damage that has been done to the city.

"These levels are in rough shape." Eomer said as they reached the first level.

"They certainly have been neglected by the Steward." Aragon agreed.

"The hostility was thick among them. They do not trust us. It will take a great deal of time before they do. Time we do not have." Legolas said.

"I need to speak with my father and see what has been going on. I am sure there must be some form of a mistake in all of this. He has never acted this way towards his people before." Boromir said.

"A year can be a long time Boromir. You have been out fighting battles while your father has been here. You might not know what has been happening within the city while you are away." Aragon said calmly.

"I must speak to him and I will find out." Boromir said as Beregond headed over towards them.

"My Lord I have spoken to the men that are left here." Beregond said and they could all tell he was slightly nervous with what he had to tell Boromir.

"When can they be ready to ride out?" Boromir asked.

"That is the problem my Lord. The men are refusing to leave."

"What do you mean they are refusing my orders? I am the General to this army. They do not have a choice in the matter." Boromir said with anger.

"It's not against you my Lord. The men are refusing to leave until Faramir gives the orders. They are questioning your state of mind and your loyalty to them and to the people. You are your father's favorite son my Lord." Beregond said.

"I have always stood by my men and did what was right for this city. I have never put my men in jeopardy. We need the army to go and reclaim the farmlands so we can rebuild the city." Boromir said clearly angry at the situation.

"I'm sorry my Lord. They refuse to go. I have tried. They won't leave the city knowing that Captain Faramir is injured and unable to travel with them. Captain Faramir is the only Captain they will trust and follow until they are told by him to follow someone else." Beregond said.

"This is ridiculous I have lead them through many battles." Boromir said.

"By your leaving you left not only Captain Faramir at the mercy of your father, but the men and their families as well. There are many hard feelings that is causing this animosity among not only the men but of the people." Beregond said.

"I understand that and I am sure there is some explanation to all of this. However, we cannot rebuild homes without those lands." Boromir said trying to calm down.

"Beregond, can you see if a few of the men will go and scout the lands so we know how many Orcs are there." Aragon asked calmly.

"I can try my Lord. I may be able to find a few that are willing to do that." Beregond said.

"Do it that way when Faramir wakes up we will know the situation of those lands." Aragon said.

"Yes my Lord. I will see who is willing to make the journey." Beregond said.

"Beregond, where has my brother been staying?" Boromir asked.

"Over here my Lord."

Beregond guided the five of them over to a small makeshift tent that was on the cold hard ground. The tent was big enough to just cover a smaller man. There was a few clothes folded in a small pile in the corner with a few small brown notebooks sitting next to it. There was no blanket or pillow. Nothing to protect him from the cold or hardness of the ground.

"This is where my brother has been sleeping?" Boromir asked with hurt in his voice.

"Yes my Lord. As I said your father locked him out. He took everything from him and made it so that Faramir had nothing, not even a cent to his name. Most of the army currently sleep like this, because their homes have not be permitted to be rebuilt. Those are your brother's journals from the past year. He was always writing in them." Beregond said.

Boromir went and picked up the three notebooks before he spoke.

"See what men will go and scout the area of the farmlands. I will be with my father in his throne room." Boromir said as he turned to leave.

They could all tell that he was angry and he had every right to be. To be gone for a year trying to help end a war and be in many battles all the while his own home city was falling apart. They could understand his anger and frustration. All they could do was hope that it would get better once he spoke to his father and was able to find out just what was going on with the city. The fact that the army was refusing to go anywhere without Faramir's orders didn't sit well with any of them. It spoke volumes to the level of distrust among the army and the Steward. It was going to take a long time before they were able to repair what damage there was not just physically but mentally as well. The four of them continued to walk around the lower levels just trying to come up with ways to help the innocent people that lived there. Boromir made his way up to his father's throne room who he was certain by now knew of his return. If not he was about to find out it was not going to be the warm welcoming he may have been hoping for.


End file.
